Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Avatar of Time
by McCainSr
Summary: After the defeat of the Firelord, Aang faces a new threat, who seeks to detroy existance.


Aang held his stance loosely, ready for the barrage of hellfire he knew was coming. By now he had figured out the Firelord's attack patterns. With each salvo it was becoming easier to evade the flames. Sweat trickled down the young Avatar's face and clung to his throat, pestering him, yet he waited patiently for the opening. The Firelord stood some faces away, panting. Thick smoke smoldered from his lungs and the halo of flames surrounding him pulsed and grew. The Firelord's left hand rose and Aang was in action, spinning his staff to extinguish the blast before it even formed. Aang countered, ending his weapon's movement with a powerful slap, sending a wave of air at Ozai. The Firelord barely budged and simple returned his arm to chamber after his attack and clenched his fist, turning the gust into flames, consuming it before it could harm him. Ozai returned fire with twin arcs which sprouted from his hands. He came at Aang spinning. Aang leapt back and realized how close to the wall he was. He jumped onto the stone barrier and leapt over Ozai, redirecting one of his flames with a breath to give way for his exit. Aang crashed in a roll and quickly stood, turning to the Firelord. He held his arms ready for another attack, but Ozai and returned to a ready stance; hands open, feet apart.

He's too powerful, Aang thought. He's too powerful and I'm not ready. The sweat from his forehead dripped into his eyes and began to sting. Aang took a step back.

"Foolish Avatar," Ozai stated. "Only now do you realize the futility of your mission. Sozin's Comet rests anchored above my city, harnessed by the will of my enslaved Earthbenders. By all qualifications, I am a GOD! There is nothing I cannot do. You have seen displays of my power and the effects it has on the human body." Aang's eyes went to the charred lump beside the throne. There was nothing besides his memory that could identify it as Azula. "You – the hope for the entire world – are without hope yourself. Accept defeat and yield the power of the Avatars to oblivion!"

The sword spun through the air like a dart. Aang had only a moment to recognize it before it was forced aside with a burst of flames. Ozai turned to the south door to find his son glaring at him.

"Zuko!" Aang cried out. "I didn't think you were coming."

Zuko glanced to the Avatar only a moment then readied his other sword. "I told you that I would help you kill my father. So here I am." Zuko conjured a dagger of fire in his unarmed hand. "Well Aang," Zuko asked with the slightest hint of a smile, "are you ready to end this?"

* * *

Aang's eyes opened slowly and he found himself in the same room he had awoken to for the past year. He came to his sense and rubbed his eyes, then buried himself deeper in the bed sheets. He looked to the swords on the wall – one burnt and half-melted and the other stained in blood. He couldn't read the name and two dates on the plaque below it, but he didn't need to. The young Avatar had memorized both long ago. 

The clock on the wall began to sound as rock impacted stone. He turned to see the hour and rolled out of bed. He dragged his feet at he moved to the washroom, the cleaned his face and put a new shirt on. Aang walked back to the bed and sat there. A moment later, Aang realized he had been crying. He wiped his tears and sighed. Today was the first anniversary of the Fire Nation's defeat and the building of the Concordia. The Concordia was the Nation that had risen out of the refugees and freedom fighter's efforts to unite the four nations. There would be two ceremonies today: one to celebrate the Concordia Nation's first year in a gala held by Magistrate Rhaine and another for the memorial.

The memorial had been Aang's idea last year to keep the memory alive. Today, Aang didn't feel like going anymore. The monk looked up to the swords again and remembered the first time he had seen them. They were wielded by The Blue Spirit, the alter-ego who had saved his life and endangered it simultaneously. They had been held to his neck once, but he had long forgiven Zuko of that.

"Zuko…" Aang said softly, trying not to recall the final images he witnessed of the man. He sat there, feeling the guilt rising like a high tide over his head and leaving him with nothing to breathe.

There was a knock on the stone door. Aang remained silent and the door opened. A think man in a fashionable gown with a slender moustache entered, flanked by two guards of Earth Kingdom descent. Aang recognized the man as Magistrate Rhaine. The Magistrate spoke, "Aang, you must get up now. Emissaries have arrived from the three kingdoms. We were hoping to discuss annexations further today before the ceremony. As Avatar, your presence is required."

"Lady Katara won't be there this time, right?" Aang asked.

"The representative for the Water Kingdom is Lord Bato," Rhaine replied. "However, young Miss Toph is outside waiting for you."

Aang slid on his gown and fixed the tabard with the emblem of Concordia on his front. "Better her than Katara," he moaned.

"Aww, Aang," the voice from the hall called out. "I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." The blind young woman in the hallway smiled to Aang before stomping down, pushing the all beside his bed to jut out and shove Aang to a stand.

"Hey! You're getting the uniform dirty!" Aang said.

"Relax, twinkle-toes," the Earthbender cooed. "Wow, you've really changed."

"You've changed too," Aang noted. "But you're still annoying."

Rhaine continued, "King Kibarra of the Earth Kingdom and Firelord Gantu are waiting for us in the debate hall. If you'll follow me, please." Magistrate Rhaine began to walk and Aang groaned, but followed him.

The fie walked in silence, the only sound being the soft clatter of the guard's armor. Aang felt his mind wander and pointless anger ebb and lull away repeatedly. He focused and tried to stay in the now, deciding instead to look at Toph. She had grown in the last year and was now taller than him. She wasn't as slender as most girls Aang was familiar with, but thickly built and powerful. She hadn't had much change in her fashion sense however, and still wore the same simple, unisex green garbs. When a blind person is too stubborn to let their servants shop for them it's usually obvious, Aang figured. He was a little surprised when she broke the silence.

"So Aang, how does it feel to be the republic's bitch?"

Aang glared at her in shock. "You don't have to say it like that!" the Avatar cried.

"I'm sorry," Toph chided. "Were you more comfortable with 'executive director and liaison in charge of Diplomatic and Extra-Spiritual relations'?"

Aang groaned, "Did you rehearse this?"

"Only for you, twinkle-toes."

Aang sighed. "It's the job of the Avatar: make this peaceful , make this peaceful, get her to stop crying, get him to stop hurting people, blah, blah, blah…I'm used to it."

Toph giggled, "Well, you know. It could be worse. You could be blind."

Aang felt annoyed but didn't say anything. Arguing with Toph was similar to bickering with a stone wall. He held his breath as they moved down the stone corridor, trying to get through the day as quickly as possible so he could get back to the dulled senses of resting.

* * *

The negotiations were lengthy, tense and ultimately fruitless. It seemed to Aang that every ten minutes a veiled accusation would be thrown from one nation to another and the delegates would lose sight of their goal and give in to arguing. The Earth Kingdom refused to forgive the Fire Nation for the destruction of Omashu, the Fire Nation blamed their rising deficits on the Earth Kingdom's retaliatory crippling of their Nation. The Water Kingdom refused to work with such soulless politicians. After an hour of wasted breath, Aang stood from the table saying, "I am the Avatar, an instrument of peace. I bring harmony and hope to humankind, but all you are doing is disgusting me. Lord Bato is right, you have all lost your humanity. You don't deserve the help of the Avatar." He turned and walked away, saying over his shoulder: "Fix this yourself." Behind him, the delegates exchange glances and excused themselves quickly. 

Aang had just reached the door when Toph spoke. "I wouldn't go out that door if I were you."

Aang spun. "What? Do you think I'm being too harsh?"

Toph smiled somewhere at Aang's midsection. "No, not at all. Someone has to tell them they're acting like children. I just wanted to warn you that Sokka-"

Before Toph could finish, Sokka burst through the doorway rushing at Aang with his shoulder. Aang had been warned in time though and the Avatar evaded the attack and pushed Sokka forward off balance and formed an Air Scooter under him, throwing the Water Tribe Warrior to the wall. He slid face first into the stone and came to a painful stop where he moaned. Sokka rose slowly, clutching his forehead. "Oww…Why did you have to warn him?"

Toph only smiled.

Sokka came back to Aang, grinning wide. "So, how's my favorite Airbender?" he asked, nudging Aang in the ribs.

Aang grimaced in reply. Sokka frowned, then tried to cheer Aang up a bit. "Appa says hi! If it wasn't for him, we never would have rebuilt the South Pole so quickly. We have a little amusement park next to the palace. You should see it now!"

Aang looked down. "I miss him too."

Sokka put his hand on Aang's shoulder. "He'd like to see you again." He hesitated, then added, "So would Katara."

_ Aang looked to the girl on the ground, her face drenched with tears, her body bathed in the glowing light of the Avatar State. Her hair whipped around in the typhoon of winds that surrounded him. She was terrified and Aang could see blood on her forehead: an injury he had given her._

"_This is no longer your fight," the overlapping voices of the Avatars boomed. "Do not interfere again." Then Aang was rising into the sky, elevated by a pillar of stone, blasting fire from his hands to rocket into the sky. Aang watched the ground below slip further away. He could remember the way the atmosphere thinned quickly, the taste of copper filling his mouth, and the change of climate as he crossed from the forest to the open sea, to the arid heat of the Fire Nation lands._

_ The Avatar landed and he felt himself say, "It's time to end this."_

Aang looked up to Sokka, hints of the terrible guilt the Avatar burdened himself with in his eyes. He let his vision drop to the ground before barely uttering, "I can't see Katara, Sokka. The things I did…the way I treated her. I'm not the same kid who loved her so long ago." Aang wriggled out from Sokka's touch and slunk away.

Toph listened to Aang's dragging feet departing, then turned to her past-time friend. "He's been taking things hard. I hear him thinking aloud when he thinks no one can," Toph explained. "He watched the Firelord murder Azula, then Zuko. To him, he didn't save the world. He only murdered a family and everyone praises him for it."

Sokka's eyes went wide. He lost his balance and stepped back as he took in Toph's words. "But…" the warrior stammered, "But he can't blame himself for all that! He didn't…"

"I know," Toph said. "But we can't imagine how hard it was for Aang. He and Zuko spent a lot of time with one another, even if it wasn't as friends. We all got to know the guy pretty well. Aang believed in him."

* * *

"You have no idea how powerful I am, do you Avatar? Even if the sun never rises again, I have the raw power of Sozin's comet at my disposal! Perhaps you would like a demonstration? Azula, kneel before me." 

"Yes, Firelord. What?! Please, Firelord! No! I have served you with my life and everything I am! Don't! Why? What have I done father? Daddy, no! NO! Avatar! Please! Save me!"

Aang raised his eyelids and let the blue sky return to his vision, hoping to ease out of the memory before he watched the memory of the young girl burn from the inside until she burst and her body curled around to distort into an inhuman mass. For a moment, the peace of nature overcame the pain and Aang was content to feel the breeze sweeping through his sleeve and into his shirt. The thirteen year old Airbender looked to the clouds and tried to focus on his long lost days at the Southern Air Temple.

The flying bison and lemurs cam back to him, as well as the rich taste of the pies the monks baked for him on his 11th birthday. The feeling of rushing from one altitude to another and the crisp air at the highest point Aang had flown…the games with boys, telling stories to the girls, his pride at being a natural bender…

The savage rage when he found Gyatso…death…the wrath of the Firebenders…

"_Now, Aang! Quickly!" Zuko's voice rang out. "Strike now! Kill my father!" Zuko's body was covered in burns everywhere Aang could see. Zuko's right arm quickly ended in a stump of ashes and burnt flesh, but his left hand held his father in a lock. "Do it, Avatar!" Zuko yelled at the hesitating bender. Zuko began to scream again, but his words were cut off by a roar of rushing fire as Ozai placed both of his hands on his son's head and concentrated white flames between his palms. Before Aang had moved, Zuko was already dead._

_ At that instant, Aang had been readying to pull water from a water skin, but now decided on a different move. Before the Firelord could lower his hands, the Avatar stomped the ground. He threw up his hands, raising Ozai on a column of stone until he came into contact with the ceiling and folded at several joints before crushing between the two forces. Aang continued pushing the stone out of the palace, unsure of the height it had reached. He just wanted to make sure that the Firelord was dead. He had the feeling that he was sinking into the Earth and the palace was falling, but continued pushing._

_ It took a long time for Aang to calm down, panting and growling. A voice in Aang's head came to him, "Relax, you're just in the Avatar State. Just focus and you'll be alright." Slowly Aang came down and he turned away. There were guards at the door, looking dumbfounded at him._

"_It's okay, guys!" Aang called out, cheerfully._

"_Avatar!" the closer Fire Nation soldier gasped. "You lowered the palace at least 15 feet!"_

"_It's just the Avatar State. I'm really powerful when it happens," Aang explained._

"_We know," the other soldier said. "We've seen it before, on Prince Zuko's ship. But your tattoos and eyes did not glow this time."_

_ Aang turned and looked at the column that had risen to the sky. "I did that on my own," he lamented softly. He looked to the two blackened bodies on the palace floor. "I'm a murderer."_

Aang reopened his eyes and looked up to the sky. He wasn't going to get solace from nature today. He stood up and began walking to the festival.

* * *

The fireworks erupted in midair over the crowd. Many people were dancing in the streets jubilantly and waving flags that boasted Concordia. The band played a rousing tune, bringing everyone's spirits up. On a stage, a Firebender moved around phoenix shaped plume and entertained the crowd. Beside him three waterbenders waited beside large jugs, their hands open and ready. 

"Concordia!" a man yelled out. "Concordia!" He then lost himself to blubbering and his mouth filled with foam. He screamed a few more times before falling to the ground.

"They have whale jerky!" Sokka yelled. He held Toph's wrist and ran into the crowd, screaming about each culture's things on display.

"Wait, what was that we just passed?" Toph asked Sokka.

"You'll never know!" he said smugly. "Whoa, look at the guy in the dress! That's so funny!"

Toph frowned. "I hate you, Sokka."

Balloons released into the air and children ran through the fairground, gleeful. Under the tents, dazzling colors sparkled and it seemed like there were hundreds of events going on at the same time. A small Fire Nation boy looked to the tent's roof, seeing a balloon, drifting about. It edged closer to the small opening at the tent's pinnacle. The child raised his hands to the balloon as it reached the edge and floated free. The boy's eyes welled with tears but he didn't cry just yet. The balloon hung in midair, just above the opening. The music slowed and the boy's mouth hung open in a scream.

The young boy with ragged hair and scars over his body walked through the nearly still crowd. He walked through the middle of the crowd and looked around.

"Where are you, Avatar?" he asked to the crowd of frozen people, looking at a running Water Tribe teenager, dragging a girl with staring eyes through the crowd.

The boy walked on and left the streets, then relinquished his hold on the passage of time. The festival continued.

"What?" Sokka said, turning towards Toph. "You say something?"

"I said, _you're a jerk_!" Toph yelled.

From outside of the crowd, the young boy crossed his arms. "I may as well call you to me if you're so hard to find." He extended his hand and the tents rose to the air. A scream ran through the crowd and he hurled the shelter to the side.

Toph turned her head and widened her stance. "What happened? The ground moved, but it feels weird!"

Sokka looked to the sky, his mouth open. "The tents just moved straight up and crashed into the city wall!"

A Fire Nation man pointed into the air. "What's that!?" High in the air, the young boy hovered in the air. He held his arms crossed and looked down on the people.

The boy yelled, "Where is the avatar?" He waved his hands and moved a cart of fireworks, then moved a torch to it. The cart exploded into the thick of the crowd, scattering a few dozen people. "WHERE IS THE AVATAR?" he demanded again.

A blast of air shot through the sky to impact the boy and he found himself hurtling towards the ground. He extended his arms and pulled a mesh bag of filled balloons towards him, which he landed on. He bounded on the ground with a loud pop, then stood.

The young bald monk armed with a staff standing before the boy glared. "I am the Avatar," Aang said. "Now what do you want?"

The boy brushed himself off. "Here I am," he announced. "Just as you asked. You know what I'm here to do." He extended his hand towards Aang.

Aang stepped back. "I don't know what you're talking about. My name is Aang. We've never met."

"My mistake," the boy said. "I should catch you up then." He looked to the crowd and waved his left hand. The crowd slowed and nearly came to a standstill.

"How are you doing that?" Aang asked.

"My name is Kalki," said the boy. "You are the Avatar; I hope you know that much. You are the balancer of the elements. I'm an Avatar too, but I balance time and space." He tried to read Aang's puzzled look. "Ringing any bells, Aang?"

Aang shrugged. "So you bend time and any object?"

"That's not why I'm here," Kalki stated. "I'm here to end the era, as legends go. It's the way of the land. You should remember this from at least one of your lives." He gave Aang a glare. "Look, just take my hand and give me your power. This world is ended."

Aang clutched his staff roughly. "I don't know which Avatar gave you permission to end the world, but I'm not about to let you destroy everything!"

Kalki shrugged. "Have it your way." He extended his right hand and pulled a side of the stone wall off and threw it at the Avatar. Aang turned and rooted himself, catching the wall in his hands. He earthbended with a stomp and rose the earth up to meet the wall, planting it back in the ground.

Aang turned back to look at Kalki. The young boy hadn't moved at all.

"You're an Avatar, alright," Kalki noted. "It seems you have the upper hand right now…"

Aang gritted his teeth together and charged at Kalki.

"I'll be back," the boy said, snapping his right hand. The boy phased out of space and disappeared.

Aang stared where the Avatar of Eternity had once been, not understanding what had just happened. The crowd returned to their normal speed and Sokka burst out of the crowd.

"Aang!" Sokka said. "What just happened? Who was that guy?"

Aang looked at the same place. "I don't remember. But he said he was here to destroy everything. He's an Avatar."


End file.
